Marriage is sacred’
The religious right's arguments against ‘gay marriage’ in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15098552 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jane Edwards (0000-0002-2705-8478, University of South Australia, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 247-261 |
| Publication date | 2007-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Culture Health & Sexuality (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1369-1058 • E-ISSN: 1464-5351 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13691050601120548 |
| PMID | 17457729 |
| OpenAlex | W2054820671 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 12 |
| References cited | 5 |
In 2004, the Australian government legislated to prohibit 'gay marriage'; the religious right had lobbied vigorously for passage of this legislation. Drawing on Durkheim's theory of sacred and profane, this paper examines the argument proffered by right-wing Christians that allowing legalised unions between lesbians and between gay men would seriously undermine the institution of marriage and the family. Claims about the spectre of gays and lesbians marrying reveal a deeper unease about the status of heterosexual marriage and the nuclear family. These concerns, in turn, house a deeper unease about the nature and place of masculinity in contemporary Australian society. This disquiet about masculinity and masculine authority is isomorphic with concerns about challenges to the notion of an objective epistemological order. Marriage and nature are both sacred in Durkheimian terms because they must be radically separated from matters profane. By locating heterosexual marriage within the domain of nature, it is protected from contact with things that threaten its sacred status. However, Durkheim's theory of the sacred is simultaneously an account of the exercise of ideological power. Attempts to cast heterosexual marriage as sacred and, therefore, as inviolate are inextricably linked with attempts to protect an epistemological order linked to masculine authority
Ideology · Institution · Legislation · Masculinity · Political science · Politics · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Marriage and Sexual Relationships
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| Unique citing works | 12 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,86 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2024 (13) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 12 |